I recently spoke at the University of North Carolina Clean Tech Summit and I was inspired by our state’s enormous potential to fully transition to a clean energy economy. I challenged the students and business leaders in attendance to embrace disruption and exemplify the leadership North Carolina needs.

Disruption, whether technology or impacts from climate change, are our new normal and this generation must not only embrace it — we must thrive in it. Technology and smart infrastructure investments will create new environmental and business solutions, so we must design policies and laws that provide certainty — yet enough flexibility to promote innovation and creativity.

There is a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr quote that remains relevant today: “We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now and there is such a thing as being too late.”

North Carolina is not too late. Gov. Roy Cooper has a vision and plan. We will use technology, new business models, entrepreneurship and good old American ingenuity to ensure we are on the right side of history.

Last September, Hurricane Florence showered three feet of water on many of the same communities that were flooded by Hurricane Matthew just two-years earlier. About $17 billion in damages later, we cannot continue to ignore the reality that we will face more frequent and extreme weather. We must rebuild stronger, smarter and faster.

Last October Cooper issued an executive order confirming North Carolina’s commitment to mitigating climate change impacts and becoming more resilient, starting with a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2025. In February 2019, DEQ released the state’s first greenhouse gas inventory in over a decade to set the foundation and measure our progress. By the end of this year, DEQ will unveil the state’s comprehensive Clean Energy Plan. Building on the input of leading innovators in energy, infrastructure, technology and sustainability, it will provide the roadmap for North Carolina’s energy future.

For North Carolina to remain globally competitive, we must continue to be leaders in the development of clean energy, jobs and corporate responsibility. The Research Triangle has the second fastest growing tech cluster for clean energy in the United States. Our state has the highest concentration of smart grid companies in the world and we’re the capital for analytics. Today there are almost a thousand clean energy firms in North Carolina, generating $6.4 billion in annual revenue.

Smart electric infrastructure is key to our competitive edge and a smarter, more resilient electric grid that enables renewable energy generation, battery storage and electric and autonomous vehicles is a must. But we must not forget the importance of our water and sewer infrastructure — that is why the governor proposed an $800 million infrastructure bond.

Cities and towns like Mount Olive have turned away new business opportunities and smart growth — housing, commercial and academic expansion — because they lack the water and sewer infrastructure to support robust economic development. That circular challenge, where there are few resources for critical infrastructure repairs and upgrades means no new tax revenue and no new economic growth, illustrating the importance of public-private partnership to invest in a reliable and resilient infrastructure.

We fully recognize technology and markets will accomplish what regulations could never accomplish alone, but not without a dose of disruption. However, if managed correctly, these disruptions can lead to positive change for both the environment and our economy. North Carolinians are resilient, and we are not too late. We are determined to leave this state better than we found it for our children and their children.

Michael S. Regan is secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

Humans of Greenville

Op Ed

President Trump lost a preliminary round Monday in his court battle with House Democrats when a federal judge ruled his accounting firm must obey a subpoena to provide his financial records to Congress.

Trump called the 41-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta "crazy" and said he planned…

A group of health care stakeholders met in Raleigh last week for a first-ever “listen and learn” session focused on two questions: How much should we spend on health care and how should these dollars be advocated?

Joe Biden is aiming his campaign pitch directly at the sensible center of American politics. "Compromise itself is not a dirty word," he asserted during his announcement speech in Philadelphia. "Consensus is not a weakness. It's how our founders down the road thought we would govern."

As a…

Compromise path to good government/Op-Ed/2019/05/23/THE-VIRTUES-OF-COMPROMISE.html11

From now on, the Trump-Russia affair — the investigation that dominated the first years of Donald Trump's presidency — will be divided into two parts: before and after the release of Robert Mueller's report. Before the special counsel's findings were made public last month, the…

Last week, North Carolina became the first state to file a lawsuit against Juul Labs Inc., maker of a top-selling electronic cigarette, contending that it targets underage youths with its products. Others may follow.

The last decade has seen a rise in the use of electronic cigarettes, or e-cigs,…

North Carolina appropriates less taxpayer money to state colleges and universities in real terms than it did before the onset of the Great Recession. Tuition has risen markedly and now accounts for a larger share of total revenue. But our state remains one of the most generous in the country when…

North Carolina ranks high in college funding/Op-Ed/2019/05/20/State-ranks-high-in-college-funding.html11

How many people have the ability to manipulate the stock market? One, and this isn’t a trick question. We’re watching how President Trump’s statements about slapping tariffs on China one day, or the great headway he’s making on a China trade deal the next day can tank the…

Is there an inside trader inside the White House?/Op-Ed/2019/05/20/Is-there-an-inside-trader-inside-the-White-House.html11